Abstract
The patient rights movement has designated medical autonomy as the predominant principle within the contemporary biomedical ethics paradigm. The principles that govern the clinical delivery of medicine and clinical research have, as of late, elicited numerous ethical concerns within the realm of neuropsychopharmacotherapy that can only be addressed by reviewing the principles of biomedical ethics through the lens of contemporary psychotherapeutic research, practice, and healthcare delivery. In this chapter, we address three overarching categories of emerging ethical questions in the field of neuropsychopharmacotherapy, namely (i) trust within the clinician–patient relationship, (ii) the nontherapeutic acquisition and usage of psychotropics for neuroenhancement, and (iii) the socioenvironmental factors that have contributed to the increase of psychotropic drug use in society. We then contextualize these ethical considerations by providing case studies of two of the most prolific and widely used psychotropic medications – Fluoxetine (Prozac ®) and Modafinil (Provigil ®). We conclude with a discussion on the future of neuropsychopharmacotherapy as it continues to evolve in a global society that is characterized by exponential increases in the prescription and use of psychotropic medications.
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Menconi Jr., M., Dubljević, V. (2020). Ethical Issues in Neuropsychopharmacotherapy: US Perspective. In: Riederer, P., Laux, G., Nagatsu, T., Le, W., Riederer, C. (eds) NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_380-1
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